The fundamental role of statistics in development is undisputed as they are needed to describe social, economic and environmental conditions and to expose the need for interventions. Statistics are crucial for planning, governing and developing societies – people, institutions and businesses and thus are indispensable to a progressive democracy. Statistics provide the information needed for evidenced-influenced policy and programmes; for citizens to form opinions and hold governments accountable for their policies; for businesses to make sound expansion and development decisions; and for researchers to analyse all aspects of society. The Commission acknowledges this imperative by strengthening its statistical function to support the Member States by setting up the Statistical Services Unit (SSU)
The SSU was formally established in 2015, pursuant to the mandate established in the Revised Treaty of Basseterre. This mandate directs the Member States to coordinate, harmonise and undertake joint actions and pursue joint policies particularly in several fields including statistics and information dissemination. To that effect, the SSU exists primarily to make available and accessible, relevant and comparable statistics and data, in addition to knowledge products and expertise to inform, influence and measure progress toward full integration of the OECS Economic Union. The SSU thus satisfies this overarching objective by representing the OECS Commission as a key player to configure, resource and maintain an inter-dependent and well-coordinated system of statistical governance, operations and cooperation.
The unit is led by Dr. Gale Archibald and is expected to lead four broad programmes for Statistical Development including:
- The OECS Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (ORSDS) 2017 to 2030
- The Sustainable Household Data Programme (SHDP)
- The Enhanced Country Poverty Assessment Project (Enhanced CPA) 2016 to 2021
- The OECS Programme to Integrate Statistics and Geospatial Data
OECS Statistical Services Unit Established